AIA Grassroots Leadership Conference

by BSA staff / March 10, 2015

Last week members of AIA Massachusetts, the Boston Society of Architects/AIA, Central Massachusetts AIA, and AIA Western Massachusetts attended the annual AIA Grassroots Leadership Conference in Washington, DC. In addition to networking with AIA leadership from around the country, the delegation met with Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Ed Markey, and Massachusetts Representatives to discuss the following issues:

Protecting and enhancing the Federal Historic Tax Credit

Supporting the Safe Building Code Incentive Act which encourages states to voluntarily adopt and enforce recognized model building codes in order to qualify for additional post-disaster FEMA grants

Support for the National Design Services Act which extends to architecture graduates' student debt relief in exchange for work in underserved communities

BSA members also discussed the importance of design education in K-12 learning, affordable housing, urban planning needs, and the need for continued attention to sustainability and resiliency advances in building practices.